Under the Affordable Care Act, a consumer marketplace for health insurance is slated to begin Oct. 1. Barak RichmanProfessor of law, Duke University School of Lawrichman@law.duke.eduhttp://www.law.duke.edu/fac/richman/ Richman specializes in the economics of contracting, new institutional economics, antitrust, and health care policy. Quote: "This is a make-or-break moment for the health insurance industry. One of the critical, though uncomfortable, features of the exchanges is that it brings health insurers directly in contact with many consumers, thus revealing the true cost of health insurance. Most Americans, who get insurance through their employer, are hidden from the full cost. "New purchasers of insurance are bound to get sticker shock. Either they will decide to forgo purchasing insurance altogether and pay the modest penalty -- and Obamacare will have done little to increase the number of insured people -- or the insurance industry will respond and produce more affordable products." Donald Taylor Jr. Associate professor of public policy, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke Universitydon.taylor@duke.eduhttp://fds.duke.edu/db/Sanford/dtaylortwitter @donaldhtaylorjr Taylor conducts research on aging and comparative health systems, including Medicare, long-term care and health policy. He blogs about health care policy at http://donaldhtaylorjr.wordpress.com. Quote:"The opening of the health care marketplaces will be important on many levels. How well will the coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act work? What will be the ultimate cost of the law? And who will sign up for coverage? Just as important is what the move to an exchange-based model says about the possible future role of employment as it relates to health insurance. "Further, the State of North Carolina is beginning a Medicaid reform discussion, and the functioning of exchanges will provide clues for what to expect in that endeavor."
